254 
readers of this very original and curious 
production. 
We have found much to interest and 
amuse us in the f/lustrations of Japan, &c. 
byM. TiTs1n Gu, translated from the French, 
and forming a large quarto volume, orna- 
mented with plates, from original Japanese 
designs. The author was, for a long 
period, the chief Dutch agent in Japan, 
and availed himself, with great diligence, 
of the uncommon facilities which presented 
themselves to him, of acquiring a know- 
ledge of the history and customs of that 
singular nation. Under the history of the 
sovereigns of that country, we find a great 
mass of very curious and characteristic 
anecdote. This is the most attractive por- 
tion of the work. The remainder consists 
of a very minute description of the mar- 
riage and funeral ceremonies. There are 
also many particulars relative to the lite- 
rature, science, and traditions of Japan, 
which are highly curious. We understand 
that the collections made by M. Titsingh 
furnish abundant materials for further 
works, which will extend our information 
on this subject as far as the suspicious po- 
licy of the Japanese government would 
permit foreign enquiries to proceed. 
We think it our duty to advert to the im- 
portant results communicated in A Letter 
to C. H. Parry, M.D. on the Influence of 
Artificial Eruptions, by EpwbD. JENNER, 
Esq.M.D. &c. This expedient has been 
employed by the author in a long list of 
cases, with decided benefit ; and with par- 
ticular success in the treatment of maniacal 
patients. Dr. Jenner does not seem to us 
to exaggerate his facts, or inclined to push 
his conclusions further than those facts 
fairly warrant; and if his observations 
should be confirmed, as we think they will 
be, by future experiments, he will have 
conferred an essential service on his spe- 
cies by pointing out another mode, at once 
simple and efficacious, of combating so 
dreadful and obstinate a distemper. 
Among the various educational works 
with which the press now abounds, we 
have had occasion to remark Munuscu- 
lum Juventuti seu Phedri Fabula, versi- 
bus hexametris concinnate, by DANIEL 
FreEncu, Esq. barrister at Law. This work 
is not so much intended to explain the 
sense of the original fables, as to illustrate 
the rules of Latin composition. We always 
thought Phzedrus a book very weli calcu- 
lated, in its original form, for the younger 
classes of Latin scholars; and we should, 
therefore, have been better pleased, if Mr. 
French had confined himself to his own 
able translations of Addison’s Spectators, 
which form a considerable part of the 
book. We must add, however, that Mr. 
French’s verse presents a very respectable 
specimen of modern Latin, and that the 
Literary and Critical Proemium. 
[April 1, 
volume proves him to be ascholar of the 
first rank. 
The admirers of Cowper will be much 
gratified by alittle volume, descriptive of 
that Poet’s Rural Walks, displayed in a 
series of views near Olney. The plates, 
fifteen in number, are very neatly execut- 
ed, and represent the scenery exemplified 
in his principal poems, the beauties of 
which appear to be of that mild and tran- 
quil character best suited to his retired and 
gentle disposition. As the scenes of 
Cowper’s lonely meditations, and sketched 
by his pen, these landscapes possess an in- 
terest, to which, aided by all the skill of 
the artist, they could otherwise make no 
pretension. A short memoir of the poet's 
life is prefixed to the volume; and the 
views are accompanied by clever descrip- 
tive sketches, which, taken altogether, 
convey a very complete idea of this part of 
the country. 
Some interest in the events of the rebel- 
lion in 1745, has been excited by the Me- 
moirs of the Chevalier de Johnstone; and 
this circumstance has, we presume, given 
birth to the reprint of the History of the 
Rebellion in Scotland in 1745, by JOHN 
Home, Esq. author of “ Douglas,” a tra- 
gedy, &c. There is much attraction in the 
dramatic celebrity of this name; and to 
this, we think, Mr. Home’s reputation must 
be confined. The work in question met 
with a very cold reception at the time of 
its original publication, when the public 
mind was much more alive to its subject ; 
and it has slumbered, without interrup- 
tion, to the present period. We cannot say 
that its fate was unmerited; it is written 
in a heavy and awkward style, and many 
of the details, particularly of incidents in 
which the author was personally engaged, 
are exceedingly trifling and tedious. The 
chief merit of Mr. Home consists in the 
pains which he bestowed in collecting in- 
formation on the spot, and the fidelity, if 
not the judgment, with which he has re- 
corded it. 
The Revenge of Taran, a dramatic 
poem, by EDWARD BALL, has, we observe, 
reached a second edition ; the first, as we 
are informed by the author, having met 
with a flattering reception, and excited 
lively concern in the minds of several dis- 
tinguished literary characters. Of what 
nature was the concern thus excited we are 
not told, and we are unwilling to put au 
ill-natured construction on the word; but 
if left to form an opinion of this volume, 
unbiassed by the judgment of others, we 
should certainly differ widely from the au- 
thorities above alluded to. It appears to us 
to be a very crude and indifferent composi- 
tion, and we look into it in vain for any 
gleam of genius which might afford the 
promise of something better hereafter. 
The 
